five ingredients or less Archives - Page 4 of 4

10 best crescent roll dinner recipes + 3 desserts

March 23, 2015 by Abby

I try my best to create meals for my family that include more whole ingredients and fewer canned and processed foods. A lot of nights, I’m successful.

There are plenty of nights, though, that I’m mostly concerned with just getting something on the table. For the nights when I don’t have anything to pull from the freezer, I try to keep a tube of crescent roll dough in the fridge.

While crescent rolls may not be the most nutritious choice, they’re a super convenient way to pull a meal together quickly. Here’s a roundup of some of my favorite crescent roll recipes.

1. sausage, egg, and cheese crescent roll bake from Winstead Wandering

2. Ranch Chicken Club Roll-Ups from Life With the Crust Cut Off

3. Pepperoni Pizza Crescents by Mess for Less

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mexican pizza {a taco bell copycat recipe}

March 5, 2015 by Abby

Confession: I’ve never had a Taco Bell Mexican Pizza. Now that I make this fresh version at home, I’ll never need to.

The recipe calls for refried beans- I make mine using this recipe– and taco meat, but I often make mine with just beans and my husband’s with meat only.

Just as with regular tacos, this recipe can be adapted to fit the preferences or dietary needs of just about anybody; in fact, it practically begs for it.

Mexican Pizzas
adapted from here
(recipe makes 4 pizzas; quantities as needed)

8 6-inch tortillas
1 – 1 1/2 cups (1 can) refried beans (you may want more if you’re omitting the meat)
1/2 pound taco meat (prepare your ground beef or turkey as you normally do for tacos)
1/2 cup taco sauce (salsa works, too)
1 cup shredded cheese
cooking spray or 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil

Additional optional toppings:
-diced tomato
-shredded lettuce
-sour cream
-diced avocado

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brown your tortillas on both sides in a saucepan, either in hot oil or by spraying both sides with cooking spray. Spray a cookie sheet lined with foil.

On the foil, layer beans and meat on top of a browned tortilla. Cover with a second tortilla and spread that one with taco sauce and sprinkle with cheese. Repeat until you’ve built four pizzas.

Bake for 8 to 12 minutes.

What fast food favorite do you make at home?

mug brownie

March 3, 2015 by Abby

There are so many mug brownie recipes on Pinterest, so I was hesitant to add my own to the mix.

But here’s the thing about those other recipes. They suck. To be fair, I haven’t tried all the mug recipes. I’ve tried a lot, though. If I had a dollar for every failed mug brownie recipe I’ve tried…well, I could buy a few boxes of brownie mix.

If you, too, have been disappointed by the recipes you’ve tried, I urge you to try just one more. Trust me, it’s the last one you’ll ever need.

mug brownie
adapted from Creating & Co.

2 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
4 tablespoons flour
5 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons water (optional: substitute 2 teaspoons of your favorite flavored coffee syrup; I prefer Torani salted caramel)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
dash of salt

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crack(er) candy

February 24, 2015 by Abby

When I was in junior high, my step-mom, Ann, tried a new treat at a faculty potluck. The art teacher, I think, brought a strange family recipe that ended up being a huge hit. Ann liked it so much that she got the recipe and made them for our next family event.

They’ve pretty much been a staple at every gathering since, including as the dessert I choose on my birthday in lieu of cake. And y’all, I love cake.

Here’s the crazy thing about these addictive little morsels: they shouldn’t work. You shouldn’t be able to melt butter and brown sugar together into a caramel, pour it over saltine crackers, bake it and sprinkle it with chocolate chips, and end up with a dessert that’s startlingly addictive.

Lucky for me, though, it does work. Oh, does it work. Here’s how.

crack(er) candy

1 stick of butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 sleeve of saltine crackers
2 cups of chocolate chips
kosher salt for sprinkling (optional)

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brown sugar balsamic strawberries

January 24, 2015 by Abby

Strawberries. Balsamic vinegar. Sugar. These are a few of my favorite things. They’re also three things I never would have imagined combining into one dish, let along enjoying. But a few years ago, I stumbled across a recipe- if you could even call it that; it basically just listed the three ingredients- on a blog I don’t recall. I was intrigued, and I happened to have everything I needed, so I threw it together.

The berries get tossed in the rich brown sugar and the acidic balsamic vinegar. Everyone rests in the fridge for a few minutes, getting chilled and cozy. When you pull it out to eat, the sugar and vinegar have come together to form a sweet and tangy sauce. The vinegar has begun to break down the berries, making them soft and delicate. It’s all a pretty lovely process.

It’s important to note that I’ve never followed a recipe when making this dish. I measured the last time I made it so that I’d be able to provide a recipe here, but keep in mind that there’s not really a wrong way to combine these three ingredients, so feel free to play around with it.

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homemade microwave popcorn

January 11, 2015 by Abby

Popcorn is one of my favorite snacks. I love salty foods, and I love to be able to munch on something while I’m working or watching TV, so popcorn is a natural fit.

My reason for making it myself, rather than buying bags of microwave popcorn from the grocery store, is two-fold. First, this homemade method is so much less expensive than the store-bought variety. Second, those pre-made bags are loaded with preservatives and chemicals. While I’m not a poster child for natural, organic living, I do try to make healthy choices when I can, especially when the healthier option is cheap, easy, and, in my opinion, even better tasting than the other option.

After popping a bag of this popcorn, you have a blank canvas just waiting to take on whatever flavors you’re in the mood for. My current favorite is butter, kosher salt, and garlic powder. I’ve been known to toss in a little Parmesan cheese, too. I’ve also enjoyed my popcorn with cinnamon sugar and with chili powder and garlic salt (not all in the same batch).

homemade microwave popcorn

1/4 cup unpopped popcorn kernels
1 brown paper lunch bag
toppings of choice: butter, coconut oil, kosher salt, cinnamon sugar, garlic powder, brewers yeast, and Parmesan cheese are a few that I’ve either tried or had recommended to me

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french bread pizza

January 10, 2015 by Abby

The other day, I made what I consider to be a brilliant discovery.

I don’t remember what I was originally looking for, but I noticed that Walmart sells, in their bakery department, fresh loaves of French and Italian bread for $1. ONE DOLLAR. When I saw the price, my mind buzzed with possibilities. Oh, the things I could make with a $1 loaf of bakery-fresh bread.

So, of course, I bought a loaf.

French bread pizza can, of course, be made using homemade bread; I make it that way often. But even those, like me, who love to bake, sometimes need a go-to meal that’s easy to throw together and doesn’t require a lot of ingredients. When that’s the case, this pizza fits the bill.

The only ingredient you really have to have is the bread. Beyond that, you can use- or not use- whatever sauce, cheese, and toppings you have around. I find that this meal is a great vehicle for leftovers. If I have chicken and vegetables in the fridge from a meal earlier in the week, I’ll chop them up and call them pizza toppings. And, unlike a traditional pizza recipe, this one easily accommodates eaters with different preferences. Just give each person their own section and let them customize the meal.

French Bread Pizza

1 loaf of French (or Italian) bread, homemade or from a bakery
toppings of choice
Oregano
olive oil
garlic salt

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